06. A Man For All Seasons (1963)

FEW, I think, will dispute that the performances of Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons". given on March the 21st, 22nd and 23rd, 1963, were the most distinguished and exciting of all the Drama Society's productions.

The play, written about 1960, had many attractions quite apart from novelty, in itself a stimulus to the producers, cast and audiences; in style and subject it was a fitting and very worthwhile choice.

The set, basically the same throughout, overcame the inconvenient oddities of our stage better than any before; balanced, clean and flexible, it made possible, without hindrance or distraction, the easy flow of the linked episodes which make up the play-a study of the character and a glimpse of the life of Sir Thomas More. It is an historical subject treated as the author aspires to do in a properly heroic, properly theatrical manner". And if we do not recognise much of ourselves in what we see, there is something seriously wrong with us. Whether regarded as spectacle or as food for thought", the play amply justified its choice.

The characterisation is well-contrasted, without in many cases demanding too great subtlety of development-an added recommendation for school production. Clarke's zealous high-mindedness, Margutti's ingratiating back-stairs diplomat, Smith as the whining Richard Rich (if a shade monotonously histrionic), Parker as the Cardinal, tired and broken in gait and gesture, though not quite in voice), Wilson, who in acting King Henry overcame a surely too rosebud' appearance-all brought their own colour to this rich variety. The part of The Common Man, in his several guises. seemed to have been designed for Thompson, so well did he fill it. Henderson, as the defiant Alice in full sail, and Allen, as the demurely intellectual Margaret, were notably successful. Bryant developed well his straightforward military nobleman, grappling with events rather beyond his grasp; and Paget, giving every inflexion, gesture and facial expression its full calculated significance, made a fascinating and frightening Cromwell.

But the keystone of the whole was the remarkable performance of Bacon. Bolt aims to show More as a man of rich diversity' - "a mari for all seasons" indeed - and Bacon, in a performance that was beautifully controlled and sustained, always enthralling, often truly moving (quite apart from the sheer length of the part), gave us all these facets in a consistent and incredibly sincere portrayal. One could well accept his Thomas More as (in Samuel Johnson's assessment) "the person of the greatest virtue these islands ever produced".

Our gratitude and congratulations are owed to the producers, to the cast and to all who contributed to this most moving and exciting experience.

H.W.Winter